Exceptions of The Illusion of Change
Why It's Only Symbolic
In recent times, I start to wonder about the Illusion of Change. About how the status quo is god and such. But I have to ask, do people really give this status any real power?
What Is The Illusion Change Anyway?
The Illusion of Change is mostly for marketing convenience. Where despite significant developments, things have to stay familiar to keep audiences around. This isn’t limited to comic books, given that the soap operas that they’re so often compared to do this as well. Not to mention everything thriving in an episodic formula, especially the ones aimed at kids. Even the more casual things in real life do this.
There’s a whole philosophy surrounding this and…I’m not adding to that. Or what people like Peter David have already said. All that I will say is that the power was given to this around the late 70s but solidified in the 90s. Afterwards it’s been a cycle of ugh…I’m getting bored just thinking about this.
Because comic readers have been becoming more aware of this for each passing decade. As well as the exceptions to this rule.
What Changes Last?
Let’s start with probably the most public example, the first Robin Dick Grayson. Even people who have only seen him on TV know that Dick went into his own as Nightwing and has only been Robin in flashbacks.
The same can be said for Jason Todd staying the Red Hood. Or Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier rather than either reverting to their old identities.
Or how about Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel and only that?
Or more notably the Fantastic Four kids, Franklin and Valeria Richards. Their development wasn’t rushed like so many other children of superheroes. Most of the time anyway.
To say nothing of Magneto or Emma Frost going through personality and morality shifts. Or at least more nuanced takes in the moral gray areas.
Some are also tied to world building like the Green Lanterns being more than one person, a Space Corps even.
Why Do They Last?
To put it simply, these changes are a new status quo that make their IP stronger.
They tend to happen because:
A broken status quo needs fixing
Expands the mythos
Feels natural
Adds more story opportunities
Aligns with cultural shifts
And above all, embraced by fans with or without the rest
Take the Green Lanterns for example, I found out there was a time people were indifferent to Alan Scott as the first Green Lantern. Especially when more time in the comics was given to his Wonder Dog, Streak. It was barely about Alan after that.
So with the Green Lantern Corps through Hal Jordan and everybody after, the concept got a bit more interesting. It reapplied old ideas into something new by aligning with cultural shifts and better, more natural, understandings of the circumstances of said idea. If this inspires more story opportunities, that’s all the better. If it is embraced by fans with a high growth number.
Compared To Say…
The changes that don’t last (for good or bad) are usually because people gave the Status Quo is God stuff power. But rather than rant about the corporate machine like a lot of lazy commentators do, let’s go into finer detail.
Fans invoke it when they notice the gimmicks or sales stunts especially when they weren’t meant to be permanent. Or when they try to follow trends unsuccessfully. Like every case of Electric Superman; ALL of them.
When something creates more problems than it solves, that’s when fans get up in arms. Especially in more recent Spider-Man stories NOT about Miles Morales.
Yet even with positive fan reception in sales, a lot of executive decisions want to stretch the novelty to its limit.
But that novelty eventually evaporates and new writers hit a storytelling dead-end because they feel constrained by another writer’s changes. So the easy thing to do is to just reset everything to the most familiar peak.
Why It Can All Turn Bad
That’s also why the illusion of change takes hold of the newer better status quo. Like with Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Incredible Hulk trying to build off influence from the title character’s Immortal Hulk run. This felt like a return to form after the run before this one spiraled out of direction, including events out of its control.
But retreading familiar territory can get old quickly. I especially saw this with Red Hood and the Winter Soldier. Something always comes up with Jason and Batman being back and forth on each other’s bad side. Bucky meanwhile always uncovers some secrets about his time under brainwashing. But at least he has more room to grow. Because Jason was pushed off the board, (not even killed off) when people ran out of ideas.
And Kamala Khan has been having trouble staying relevant or an everlasting classic. Comic Drake made a video about that:
The Symbol of the Illusion of Change
The Illusion of Change might’ve sounded like gospel out of Stan Lee’s mouth. That’s the thing about symbols and their power. While people need to give it power, it’s usually because they are following someone they see as an authority. Not the late Mr. Stanley Lieber, just the effect his persona had on people. Because it looks like Peter David gave it more credibility. If unintentionally.
What am I talking about? I’m not gonna try to sound smart.
That’s a can of worms I’ve been avoiding.
I’m just saying, the Illusion of Change isn’t always as advertised. Same as everybody’s glory days or peaks.